Railway-gate.



P W TH A NG MY A W L nn APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1906.

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. A TTORNEYS No. 844,721 PATENTED FEB. 19, 1907.

J. M. HARRINGTON.

RAILWAY GATE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23. 1906.

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J. M. HARRINGTON.

RAILWAY GATE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 23, 1906.

PATENTED FEB. 19, 1907.

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JOHN M. HARRINGTON, OF EDGERTON JUNCTION, MISSOURI.

RAILWAY-GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1907.

Application filed November 23, 1906. Serial No, 344,758,

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. I'IARRING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Edgerton Junction, in the county of Platte and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Railway-Gate, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway-gates of that general class especially designed for preventing the passage of cattle along or upon railway-tracks.

The object of the invention is to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive device of this character including a pair of gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of a railway-track and movable automatically to operative and inoperative position by a passmg train.

A still further object of the invention is to generally improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability, and efficieney.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the ap pended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a railway constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. is a detail side elevation of the depending shaftsupporting hangers. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top plan view illustrating a modilied form of the invention.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The improved. railwaygate is principally designed for preventing the passage of cattle along or upon railway-tracks and by way of illustration is shown applied to a railwaytrack of the ordinary construction, in which 5 designates the cross-ties, on which are mounted the rails 6.

Connecting the opposite ends of adjacent ties 5 are transverse beams 7, in which are journaled the posts or standards 8 of the railway-gates 9. The gates 9 are secured to and mounted for rotation with the posts 8 and are so disposed that one half of each gate will extend partially across the road-bed while the other half of the gate will extend beyond the ends of adjacent ties, so that when said gates are in closed or operative position they will form an ell'ectual barrier to the passage of cattle along the track and on each side thereof.

Rigidly secured to the lower ends of the posts or standards 8 and mounted for rotation in suitable recesses 10 in the transverse beams 7 are beveled gear-wheels 1 1, the teeth of which mesh with corresponding beveled pinions 12, secured. to and mounted for rotation on a transverse shaft 13. The shaft 13 extends beneath the rails 6 and is provided with spaced sprocket-wheels 14, secured to said shaft between the rails and operatively connected through the medium of sprocketchains 15' to similar sprocket-wheels 16, secured to and mounted for rotation with transverse shafts 17 and 18.

Spaced from the sprocket-wheels 14 and keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the opcrating-shaft 13 are sprocket-wheels 19, also preferably positioned between the rails 6 and connected, through the medium of sprocketchains 20, with sprocl et-wheels 21 and 22, mounted on the shafts 17 and 18. The shafts 17 and 18 are journaled in suitable hangers or boxes 22, depending from the lower surface of the rails 6, and spaced from said shafts and ournaled in similar bearings 23 are auxiliary shafts 24 and 25. The shafts 18 and 24 and the shafts 17 and 25 are each provided with spaced sprocketwheels 26, which engage endless chains or belts 27 and 28, said chains being provided with laterallyextending arms 29, which extend in the path of movement of the train, so that the train will actuate said chains automatically to open and close the gate, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

Depending from the cow-catcher 30 of the locomotive is a hook 31, adapted to engage the arms on the adjacent chain28 and through the medium of the sprocket-chafn 15 rotate the gates a qualter-revolution, thereby to per mlt the passage of the tran. Secured to the rear coach 31 is a similar depend. ng book 32,

I adapted to engage the arms of the cha'n 28 on the opposite side of the gate, and thus rotate the chain to turn the gates a further quarter-revolution and automatically close the same.

The rotary actuating members or chains 27 and 28 are mounted in suitable casings or housings 33, extending beneath the rails 6, and are so disposed that the actuating-arms 29 on the upper leg of the chain will extend above and parallel with the upper surface of the adjacent cross-tie. The sprocket-chains 15 and 20 are also housed in suitable casings 34, extending beneath the cross-ties, thereby to prevent dirt and other foreign matter from clogging or otherwise obstructing the movement of the same.

Mounted on the roadway on each side of the track are suitable guards 35, which pre vent the cattle from passing around the ends of the gates when the latter are moved to operative position. The gates 9 are reinforced and strengthened by longitudinal brace-wires 36, which engage suitable eyes or loops 37, disposed at the top of the posts8, and are thence extended downwardly and fastened in any suitable manner to the crossties 5, there being standards 38 interposed between the road-bed and the braces 36 to assist in supporting the same in operative position.

Secured to the cross-ties 5 beneath the shaft 13 is a leaf-spring 37, an intermediate portion of which is provided with a socket or depression 38, adapted to receive a squared boss or enlargement 39, carried by the central portion of the shaft 13, thereby to lock the shaft against accidental rotation, and consequently prevent the wind from moving the gates to open position. The tension of the spring 37 is regulated by suitable setscrews 40, which engage correspondinglythreaded blocks 41, secured to the cross-ties. If desired, however, the blocks 41 may be dispensed with and the screws 40 arranged to bear directly against the ties, the result accomplished being the same in both cases. It will thus be seen that when a trainis traveling in the direction indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the hook 30 of the locomotive will engage the adjacent chain 28 and move the gates to open position, so as to permit the passage of the train and when the train passes the gates the hook 32 on the rear coach 31 will engage the opposite chain 28 and through the medium of the intermediate connectingchains automatically move the gates to closed position, it being here noted that the chains 27 and 28 are spaced at different distances from the adjacent rails 6, so as to prevent the hook 30 on the locomotive from engaging the chain 28 after said train has passed the gates. It will of course be understood that when the shaft 13 is rotated by the tappet 31 engaging the chain 28 that the enlargement 39 will depress the spring 39, and thus permit the gates to be moved to open position, the tension of the spring being sufficient to hold the gates closed against the action of the wind, but insufficient to hold them in locked position when actuated by the tappets on the train.

It is obvious that when the train is traveling in the opposite direction the hooks on the locomotive and rear coach will engage the adjacent actuating members or chains and move the gates to operative and inoperative position in the manner before described. The tender of each engine will preferably be provided with a detachable hook similar in construction to the hook 32, so that when the engine and tender are traveling alonethat is to say, without any passenger or freight cars coupled therewith-the hook 32 will engage the adjacent chain 28 and automatically close the gates after the passage of said locomotive.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings there is illustrated a modified form of the invention, in which a single sprocket-chain 15 is disposed on each side of the operating-shaft 13 and serves to connect said shaft to the transverse shafts 17 and 18. In this form of the device the hook 32 on the back of the train is arranged to engage the actuating-arms 29 on the chain 27, while the tappet 31 on the locomotive is positioned to engage the arms on the chain 27 the operation being otherwise the same as the device shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

From the foregoing description it is thought that the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extending partially across the track, endless belts disposed adjacent the track, sprocket-chains operatively connected with the endless belts and the gates, respectively and arms projecting laterally from the belts and extending in the path of movement of a train for moving the gates to operative and inoperative position.

2. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on the opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extending partially across the track, beveled gears carried by the gates, a shaft provided with terminal pinions meshing with the teeth on the beveled gears, endless belts disposed adjacent the track, sprocket-chains operatively connected with the belts and shaft respectively for transmitting movement to the pinions, and arms projecting laterally from the belts and extending in the path of movement of the train for moving the gates to operative and inoperative position.

3. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extending partially across the track, beveled gears secured to the gates, an

ICS

operating-shaft provided with terminal pinions meshing with the teeth on the beveled gears, endless belts disposed between the track-rails, sprocket-chains operatively connected with the endless belts and operatingshaft respectively, and means carried by the belts and operable by a passing train for moving the gates to operative and inoperative position.

4. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on the opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extending partially across the track, endless belts disposed between the track-rails and operatively connected with the gates, and means carried by the belts and operable by a passing train for moving the gates to operative and inoperative position.

5. The combination with a railway-track, of coactin" gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extending partially across the track, a transverse operating-shaft provided with terminal pinions engaging the teeth on the beveled gears, auxiliary shafts disposed j on each side of the gate and spaced from the operatii'ig-shaft, endless belts connecting said shafts, sprocket-chains for transmitting motion from the endless belts to the operatingshaft, and means carried by the endless belts and extenzling in the path of movement of the train for moving the gates to operative and inoperative position.

6. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on op.- posite sides thereof and each having one end thereof extended partially across the track, gear-wheels secured to the gate, a transverse operating-shaft provided with terminal pin ions engaging the teeth on the gearwheels, auxiliary shafts disposed on each side of the operating-shaft and spaced from the latter, endless belts connecting the auxiliary shafts and operatvely connected with the operatingshaft, housings inclosing the endless belts, and arms projecting laterally from the endless belts and extending in the path of movement of the train for moving the endless belts to move the gates to operative and in operative position.

7. The combination with a raihvay-trael; including cross-ties, transverse beams connecting adjacent ties, gate-posts journaled in said beams on each side of the track and provided with gearavheels, gates secured centrally to said posts and each having one end thereof extended partially across the railway-track and its opposite end projecting laterally beyond the ends of the adjacent ties,

a transverse operating-shaft provided with pinions meshing with the teeth on the gearwheels, hangers depending from the bottom of the track-rails, auxiliary shafts journaled in said hangers and spaced from the operating-shaft, endless belts connecting the auxiliary shafts and provided with laterally-extending arms, sprocket-chains connecting the operating and auxiliary shafts for moving the gates to open and closed position when the endless belts are moved, housings inclosing the sprocket-chains and housings partially inclosing the endless belts.

8. The combination with a railway-track, of coacting gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extended partially across the track, an operating-shaft connecting the gates and provided with an angular enlargement, a spring bearing against the enlargement for locking the gates in closed. position, and rotary actuating members operativel y connected with the shaft and movable by a passing train to release the enlargement from engagement with the spring and rotate the gates to open position.

9. The combination with a railway-track, of eoacting gates mounted for rotation on opposite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extended partially across the track, an operating-shaft connecting the gates and provided with an angular enlargement, a spring disposed beneath the shaft and provided with a depression adapted to receive the enlargement on the shaft for locking the gates in closed position, and rotary actuating members operatively connected with the shaft and actuated by a passing train to release the enlargement from engagement with the walls of the depression and retate the gates to open position.

10. The combination with a railway-track, of eoacting gates mounted for rotation on op posite sides of the track and each having one end thereof extended partially across the track, an operating shaft connecting the gates, a spring bearing against the shaft for locking the gates in closed position, means for regulating the tension of the spring, and rotary actuating members operatively connected with the shaft and movable by a passing train to depress the spring and rotate the gates to open position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto a'llixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. HARRINGTON.

Witnesses:

EDWIN T. THURSTON, A. HAMILTON. 

